What is self-worth?...
What is self-worth?
Self-worth describes our core beliefs about our value and worth as a human being. It indicates how much we understand, love, respect and accept ourselves despite our imperfections, flaws, and weaknesses. It is knowing we are worthy of love, belonging, and respect from others no matter how they feel about us, what they say about us, or how they treat us. Self-worth is believing that we have a place in this world and that we deserve to be here, as well as understanding that we are ‘good enough’ just as we are.
According to the American Psychological Association, self-worth can be defined as “an individual’s evaluation of himself or herself as a valuable, capable human being deserving of respect and consideration”.
What is the difference between self-worth and self-esteem?
Self-worth and self-esteem are often considered to be the same thing, with many people using the terms interchangeably, however, whilst they are closely related, their meanings are quite different, with self-esteem describing how we think and feel about ourselves and self-worth describing how much value we place on ourselves. The tables below further illustrate these significant differences:
Why is self-worth so important?
There are many ‘self-‘ words being used in our society today, including self-worth, self-esteem, self-concept, self-confidence, self-respect, self-acceptance, self-love, self-regard, and self-care. All these (and more) are significant, unique qualities that we need to nurture and develop in our lives, but we need to understand where they come from and how they relate to self-worth.
First, we will look at self-worth, which is a sense of our value as a human being and an indicator of how much we respect, love, accept, and value ourselves regardless of what others say or feel about us. By its very definition, self-worth is the foundation upon which all the other ‘self’s’ are built, and it’s vital to properly understand its role because it is from self-worth that everything else grows and flourishes.
Self-worth is like the root system of a tree firmly grounding and supporting us, while all the other ‘self’s’ are the leaves. We all know that strong roots are essential for healthy leaves, so it makes sense to concentrate on understanding and developing self-worth before we move on to the other ‘self’ qualities, otherwise, we are not building on a firm foundation and risk having unhealthy and damaged parts to us which make us fragile and less able to cope with the stresses and difficulties of life.
Let’s consider this further, whilst the roots of a tree, help to anchor it into the ground so that it grows straight and stable, they also keep the trunk and canopy upright against the force of gravity and stop it from falling over when strong winds come along. When the ‘storms of life’ come our way, which they inevitably do, a strong sense of self-worth helps us face the storms full-on, remain stable and firmly grounded throughout, and recover quickly from them once they have passed.
It is natural for us to focus on what we can see of trees, their beauty, their height, the shade they provide, and how they change throughout the seasons, but we need to remember that the most important part of any tree is what lies unseen underneath the ground.
The same is true of self-worth. For example, our focus is often on our self-esteem, self-image, or self-confidence, which are heavily influenced by outside factors and change depending on what is happening around us. However, the most important part of our ‘selves’ is our self-worth, which lies unseen within us but is the foundation upon which everything else grows and flourishes. The stronger our self-worth is, the healthier our self-esteem, self-image, self-confidence, and all the other ‘self’s’ will be. The more robust it is, the more likely we are to accept, respect, love, and care for ourselves in the right way.
How does self-worth help us?
A strong sense of self-worth helps us to…
accept ourselves wholeheartedly – be confident in our abilities – be kinder to ourselves – solve problems – make wise decisions – seize opportunities – be receptive to love – develop a high level of self-esteem and self-respect – improve our mental well-being – protect ourselves against stress and emotional problems – weather the storms of life with resilience and self-assurance – find meaning and purpose in life – know we are enough just as we are.
How can we build self-worth?
There are many ways we can develop our self-worth that will help us to grow, flourish, and reach our full potential, and some of these include:
Learning to appreciate our uniqueness and strengths.
Not comparing ourselves to others.
Developing an ‘attitude of gratitude’.
Getting to know ourselves and the things we value in life.
Challenging the negative perceptions and unkind thoughts we have of ourselves.
Changing how we use social media so that it doesn’t negatively impact us.
Learning to take compliments and praise from others.
Saying positive affirmations to ourselves; “I am valuable, I am unique, I am brave, I am significant…”
Knowing what makes us happy and doing more of what we enjoy.
Trying new things and taking on new challenges.
Overcoming the things we are afraid of by ‘facing our fears’.
Developing healthy friendships and relationships.
Living a healthy lifestyle (e.g. eating healthily, exercising, getting enough sleep).
Believing that this world needs us and that we have a unique purpose in it.
Understanding how we can help to make the world a better place and then doing so!
How do Inspire courses build self-worth?
Our Inspire courses are unique in the way that they help develop self-worth because once they have encouraged individuals to look ‘inwards’ to help them understand their value and identity, they then inspire them to look ‘outwards’ to the world around them. The author believes that if we stay in a place where we are only looking inwards, solely focused on ‘self’, we will never fully reach our potential or become all that we have been created to be. True happiness, fulfilment and contentment come not only in accepting, valuing, and loving ourselves but also in accepting, valuing, and loving the people around us, as well as understanding our place and purpose in this world.
Inspire teaches us that we are unique, which is something to celebrate! When we understand that we are not meant to be like everyone else, we are more likely to accept ourselves and understand our intrinsic value and worth. Inspire also shows us how comparing ourselves to others can steal our joy and teaches us how we can love others instead of comparing ourselves to them. It also focuses on the importance of being thankful and shows us how to develop an ‘attitude of gratitude’.
Inspire teaches us that we are valuable and that nothing can change our value or take away our worth. It highlights that our value comes from within and always remains the same regardless of other people’s opinions or the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Society only values how a person looks on the outside without considering what they are like on the inside. Inspire encourages us to concentrate on developing our inner qualities and character which are of far greater worth.
Self-worth comes from understanding our identity and the potential we possess. Inspire helps us to understand who we are and that we have a unique purpose in this world by helping us to find out what our gifts, abilities, and talents are and how we can use them for the sake of others. The courses teach us how to ‘shine’ our light rather than hide it, empowering, encouraging and equipping us to reach our full potential and become everything we were created to be.